Think we can't live without plastic? Think again. In 2007 I committed to stop buying any new plastic & I've almost succeeded! Won't you join me? Let's see what plastic-free looks like today… for the health of our bodies, our oceans, our planet. ~Beth Terry

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Monthly Archives: January 2014

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m trying to reduce the number of supplements I take (and hence, supplement packaging) by getting my nutrients from whole foods instead of pills. So a few weeks ago, I was wondering aloud (apparently, I’ve started talking to myself a lot lately) about how I could get more calcium, and Michael, whose mind goes all sorts of random places, said, “You eat an egg every day. Why not eat the shell, too?” He wasn’t serious. But I wondered if eating eggshells was a thing. You know, a thing that people do. So of course, I turned to that trove of wisdom called Google, and lo and behold, there were lots of posts about how to do just that.

Before I go further… once again… I am not a doctor. I am not suggesting that you or anyone else should eat eggshells. I’m simply reporting my own experience.

New Year’s Resolution #2: Generate less plastic waste from medicine and supplement packaging.

Okay, before I continue, I have to give the usual caveat: I am not a doctor and nothing I write in this post or anywhere on this blog should be construed as medical advice. I’m writing about my experience only. Your mileage may vary.

Now that that’s out of the way, check out my stash of health-related plastic waste from 2013:

Let’s examine it row by row.

Boosting My Immune System

Top 2 rows: With the exception of the ibuprofen (which I used over several years), all are cold/flu related products. Like I mentioned last week, I got sick a lot in 2013. … Read the rest

In October, when Kathryn Palumbo first contacted me on Twitter from @YouAsAMachine, I thought, “Who the heck is this woman with the ripped abs and the funny Twitter handle? And why would someone like this be tweeting me, a totally out of shape but committed plastic-free activist?” I’m not exactly sure why I thought it was strange except that I don’t know any fitness trainer type people, and I guess I had this pre-conceived idea that they all wore Spandex, lived on bottled water and energy bars, and spent so much time in the gym they didn’t have time to care about the environment.

New Years Resolution #1: Lose the 35 pounds I’ve gained since I went plastic-free in 2007.

Here’s me in January 2007, minutes after completing my first marathon and 6 months before I decided to go plastic-free. Look at all that plastic crap, including (gasp!) bottled water. Well, I’ve lost a heck of a lot of plastic weight since then!

But instead of keeping it off, I seem to have just transferred the weight to my hips, my butt, my tummy, etc. Here’s me in March 2013 after living plastic-free for almost 6 years. All natural, organic clothing. Water in a stainless steel bottle. Yet I am 35 pounds heavier.

This image is from a talk I gave with Danielle Richardet and Bonnie Monteleone at UNCW in Wilmington, North Carolina. I was recovering from what would turn out to be only one of many colds I came down with last year. And while I’m really proud of the talk, I was so embarrassed by my appearance (having gained… Read the rest

Read the book…

Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too is your illustrated, practical guide to living with less plastic, updated with new chapter and foreword by musician Jack Johnson. Click here to learn more.